Cat fighting is a derogatory and sexist term that describes a fight between two women. The term conjures up an image of a mad and unruly fighting with nails used as primary weapons and the fighters are simply animals.
But, like many terms of injustice, combative women have appropriated the word to mean something else.
Read carefully now because many men and women still don’t “get” this: there is another style of “cat fighting”. It is known as “rule cat fights” and has a long and cherished place in the history of female combat activities. It’s really nothing more than a wrestling match in which women can use specific pain-oriented tactics such as hair pulling, breast grabbing, and slapping. A rules catfight is PART of recreational wrestling.
Although the expression, in popular parlance, may well imply a fight and also the rules in our world could be designed to mimic such an adventure, the rule fights totally forbid hitting, scratching, choking or biting. In short, they are crude, yet not harmful and rules are in place to prevent any harm of any kind.
Cat fighting or cat fighting has also lately seen a boom in the form of entertainment in various different forms. The cat fighting press showcases forms from the more modern look of extreme cat fighting, where punching and kicking are included with the unoriginal variety of female cat fighting techniques. Such stereotypical displays of frustration are often shown on the daytime television show The Jerry Springer Show.
Among the highest-profile catfights in the media are the racy ads for Miller Lite’s “Catfight” in 2002, which were singled out by many as sexist. The careers of the two actresses in this catfighting commercial, Kitana Baker and Tanya Ballinger, enjoyed an essential boost. It is notable for wrestlers shedding some clothing after a fight.